It’s time for another Magnificent 8 collab, and this month my blogger friends and I are showcasing how we style vests. I have a few quilted vests in my closet, but I almost exclusively layer them over sweaters with jeans for a cozy, après-ski kind of outfit. That felt too boring for a blog post, so I wanted to challenge myself to create a fancier look with my black vest. I love how the outfit came together!

This outfit is giving me all the preppy, collegiate vibes—slap on a headband and I might even call this a Blair Waldorf inspired look! This outfit is a totally new combination for me. I have never even thought to pair this polka dot mesh sleeve top with this plaid skirt, let alone with a black vest over it. Usually new outfit ideas come to me while doing laundry (I love seeing random pieces next to each other in the dirty clothes hamper, only to realize they pair quite nicely), but for some reason today’s outfit just came to me with no sort of inspiration.

What I like about this look is that it’s subtly interesting. The polka dots and plaid are a fun way to do pattern mixing, but the colors are so subdued that it’s not in-your-face like a lot of prints can be. I also love how chic and put-together this outfit looks—as I said, I usually wear vests exclusively with casual outfits, so this feels like a huge step up. The gold zipper and buttons of the vest add a little glam to the look, in my opinion, as do the green dangly clip-on earrings. I thought the clip-ons might look funny with the outfit, but I loved the subtle hint of green! It paired perfectly with my Cabi plaid skirt, which just screams fall vibes to me.

I completed the look with my trusty maroon circle bag (and a little lip color to match), as well as my white knee socks and black knee boots. I think the socks and boots are what really pull this look together because they make the color scheme a lot more cohesive. Without them, the stark white (or I suppose, crème) of my top would be a little jarring against the black.

My only complaint is that I do think this look needs a necklace—but only a very specific kind of necklace. It needs a gold pendant that hangs narrowly, so that it can be seen hanging in the opening of the vest. I think the long, adjustable, tie-type necklace style that was popular a few years ago would work perfectly (something kind of like this).

In the four falls that I have now spent in Colorado, this year is by far the most beautiful. I can’t get enough of all the gorgeous colors and leaves around campus! I know they won’t last much longer, so I was very excited to snap these pictures in front of one of my favorite buildings before class yesterday. I don’t know why, but I think this outfit would be SO cute to wear in Scotland when I study abroad there in the spring! Something about the plaid and riding boots make it feel very British and overcast-worthy to me.

Be sure to check out my seven blogger friends below to see how to style vests at every stage of life:

Let me introduce the other seven ladies of The Magnificent 8.

Mica of Away from the Blue   //   Roxanne of Glass of Glam   //   Shelbee of Shelbee on the Edge   //   Rena of Fine Whatever   //   Eugenia of Age of Grace   //   Lesley of Jodie’s Touch of Style   //   Charlotte of Jodie’s Touch of Style

We are showing that you can’t put a number on style!

. . . . .

As always, thanks for stopping by today! Are you a big fan of vests or do you find ‘sleeveless jackets’ to be a rather useless clothing item? Let me know in the comments! And I hope you’re having a great week so far.

 

Miles of smiles,

Grace

 

Polka Dot Sleeve Top: Loft, $20, last worn here | Black Quilted Vest: JCPenney, $15, last worn here | Plaid Skirt: Cabi, $89, last worn here | White Knee Socks: DSW, $15, last worn here | Black Knee Boots: Clarks via DSW, $100, last worn here | Maroon Circle Purse: Nordstrom Rack, $50, last worn here